On-Board Casinos...are there nights where payout is better than others?

[chicagojayhawk]

DH was wondering...

 

We're headed on Freedom this weekend and definitely want to try our luck at the Casino a few nights. Are there some nights that are better than others?

 

Also, is smoking allowed in the Casinos?

[Sue L]

I won on the first night and the last night. The last night I won 241$ on a 2 cent machine. Smoking is allowed but last week on the Serenade they had one night (Thursday) as a smoke-free night.

[sas80]

Here is how slot machines pay out....

(I used to write video gaming software for a gaming company in Las Vegas, made video reel spinners)

 

Everything is based off odds (statistics) The more higher paying symbols you have on every reel mean that the game pays out a higher percentage.

 

From what I have seen, and discussed with marketing at the company, you will get a higher percentage payback from a higher denomination game.

 

Typically casinos would purchase games like this:

Penny and two cent games would pay back between 83%-87%

Nickel games would pay back between 88% and 90%

Quarter games would pay back between 91% and 96%

Dollar games would pay back between 96% and 99%

 

The linked games (where the jackpot increases with every spin of the handle) still follow the same odds based on denomination and are probably reset to the base amount with every cruise (because you all dont know how much the jackpot reached on the last cruise!)

 

Everything is about odds/statistics. There is no better night to play than any other night.

 

Best thing to do is master a table game and stick to that. From what I have typed above, odds are that you'll never get your money back.

 

I never made any games that paid back 100% or greater......and, yes, I have seen some of our games on the ships. None that I have personally done, but definitely games that co workers have done.

 

Good luck!

[winncove]

SAS Since the ship casinos are not a typical casino, ruled by Nevada or any other US state, are their payouts typical or are the odds set up to their standards? [Different programs.] I've read of a few ppl winning big but our experience is most of the time we can't even win enough to keep playing for a while! Not much fun ro just keep feeding the slots. Play 3 Card & BJ some and don't do well there either but @ least get to play a bit!

[iheartbda]

sas80

I'm probably really off on this but on one cruise line I could play around on the slots with $20 for a fairly long time. I'd win some, lose some and even win everything back plus some extra. This happened on 5 sailings with Celebrity. Went on a different line this past winter and my $20 was gone as fast as I put it in. I never play with the idea of winning big, just like to see how long I can play on 20 bucks. Didn't spend much time in THAT casino. :(

[Len3]

I've had better luck on NCL than any other cruiseline. They have a "casinos at sea" card that you put into each machine, must like Vegas and Atlantic City. Points are awarded according to play time and these points are converted into a dollar amount that comes off your cabin bill at the end of the cruise. In October, we're on the Navigator" and I don't believe that RCCL has a like program. Generally, the casinos have been kind to us. Personaly, I play in the mornings on days at sea and have won nicely.

[phoenix1181]

I have no idea what the odds are on the slots, but I can't imagine that any cruise line would be taking the machines apart to reset those odds several times every cruise. IMHO, It doesn't make any sense.

[cb at sea]

I've never won ANYTHING on a cruise ship slot--not even enough to keep you going for a while! Yes, I've seen a few folks who have hit, but definitely nothing like a land-based casino.

The table games do have better odds, but you need to learn to actually play those games! If you don't play by the "rules", your odds drop substantially!

[uksimonusa]

If there is a night that they pay out more, it's always the night that I don't go to the casino!!:D

[sas80]

SAS Since the ship casinos are not a typical casino, ruled by Nevada or any other US state, are their payouts typical or are the odds set up to their standards? [Different programs.] I've read of a few ppl winning big but our experience is most of the time we can't even win enough to keep playing for a while! Not much fun ro just keep feeding the slots. Play 3 Card & BJ some and don't do well there either but @ least get to play a bit!

 

The reality of the situation is that the gaming machine is just that, a machine. To the machine a token is a token. The machine does not care if it is a penny, nickel, quarter, etc.

 

That said, any establishment can purchase any percentage payback game and tie to to any denomination... A company could buy an 88% payback game and choose the denomination to be $1 OR 1 cent!

 

All games (video slots, mechanical reels, video hybrid slots) must past regulations before they are allowed to be sold to the open market.

 

International companies go thru international gaming regulators, nevada casinos go thru nevada regulators, etc.

 

I would suppose that cruise lines could choose to use the nevada gaming control board as their marker for game integrity. Mind you tho - the regulators ONLY check for the integrity of the game. If it is supposed to pay back at 97%, they will test it to be sure that it does. They also look to make sure there are no software glitches, etc.

 

Ship casinos would most likely choose to only purchase games that have been passed thru some sort of gaming regulators. Otherwise they run the risk of really pissing people off with buggy games that dont behave like the help/payback screens say they do....

[sas80]

I have no idea what the odds are on the slots, but I can't imagine that any cruise line would be taking the machines apart to reset those odds several times every cruise. IMHO, It doesn't make any sense.

 

Unless the software is set up to be "multi denominational", the cruiseline purchases the single game at a set payback percentage.

 

Remember, the payback percentage has everythig to do with the weighted average of the game....i.e. how many higher paying symbols are on the reels (video or mechanical)

 

If the game is multi denominational, you can bet that the payback percentage (and the symbols on the video reels) change as the player selects different denominations.

 

Resetting the game is as simple as clearing the game's memory. You do have to shut the machine down, open the doors, flip some dipswitches, etc,. But the whole process can be accomplished in 5 minutes (or less) on any one machine. And you can reset many machines at once....no problem.

[Chief Cruiser]

SAS Since the ship casinos are not a typical casino, ruled by Nevada or any other US state, are their payouts typical or are the odds set up to their standards? [Different programs.] I've read of a few ppl winning big but our experience is most of the time we can't even win enough to keep playing for a while! Not much fun ro just keep feeding the slots. Play 3 Card & BJ some and don't do well there either but @ least get to play a bit!

 

 

It doesn't matter whether the casino is governed by the State of Nevada, any other US state, or whether you're in Canada, Monte Carlo, Mexico, the Caribbean, the Bahamas, or on any ship anywhere else in the world, ALL casinos are ruled and goverened by one rule and one rule and standard only:

 

They win; you lose.

 

Go to the casino, keep the money in your pocket, have fun watching other people lose, and walk away happy and richer for it.

[jmla01]

Or play poker where you are not playing against a machine, dice, a wheel, etc.

[hazz24]

My husband and myself did really well on our last cruise. Our casino winnings paid all but $300.00 of our $2100.00 bill. Texas holdum tourney and 3 card poker. Slots were a waste of time. We love the casino. Best rule of thumb don't go in thinking you are going to hit and don't spend more than you are willing to loose. Casinos are entertainment and very few get rich.

[Daghis]

Resetting the game is as simple as clearing the game's memory. You do have to shut the machine down, open the doors, flip some dipswitches, etc,. But the whole process can be accomplished in 5 minutes (or less) on any one machine. And you can reset many machines at once....no problem.

I do that on my slot machine regularly. It's a pain to have to power cycle the machine in order to change the games loaded (it's an Odyssey), but at least I can choose different games.

 

I have one game on my machine that definitely would not be used as a regular slot machine game in a casino. It has a hold percentage of -1200%! (Yes, it would pay out, in the long run, about 12 times what it brings in.)

 

Ironically, even though we've had many triple-7's and lots of bonus rounds, we've never gotten the top-line jackpot and only once in four years have we even had just two of the three symbols for that jackpot. That's just how hard it is to win a top-line jackpot!

[gnparend]

I think my wife has the right idea. If I go to the casino she goes to the shops on board. At the end of the night she says "you may have somthing to show for your money, I know I will have something for my money"

[CGTNORMANDIE]

THANK YOU SAS80!!!

 

Your explanation has helped me. I have been in a lot of shipboard casinos and I have talked to the managers in many of them. I can tell you that the machines are almost always reset at the start of a cruise...and this lessens your chances of winning...especially if no significant jackpots have been hit previously.

 

I have found RCI and Celebrity to be some of the best casinos at sea...although this varies from ship to ship...depending on who is in charge of the casino. The ABSOLUTE WORST casino at sea is PRINCESS. I know for a fact that ALL OF THEIR MACHINES are set at less than 87%...top that off with the fact that if you did happen to win a jackpot...you also get a 1099 sent to the IRS...even though you are out to sea.

 

SAS80 IS RIGHT...Learn how to play Blackjack or Craps!!!:D

[CGTNORMANDIE]

THANK YOU SAS80!!!

 

Your explanation has helped me. I have been in a lot of shipboard casinos and I have talked to the managers in many of them. I can tell you that the machines are almost always reset at the start of a cruise...and this lessens your chances of winning...especially if no significant jackpots have been hit previously.

 

I have found RCI and Celebrity to be some of the best casinos at sea...although this varies from ship to ship...depending on who is in charge of the casino. The ABSOLUTE WORST casino at sea is PRINCESS. I know for a fact that ALL OF THEIR MACHINES are set at less than 87%...top that off with the fact that if you did happen to win a jackpot...you also get a 1099 sent to the IRS...even though you are out to sea.

 

SAS80 IS RIGHT...Learn how to play Blackjack or Craps!!!:D

[Barbiegator]

Jewel of the Seas Casino paid lots of jackpots in June. Current cruise pictures where on video screen as you enter the casino. I recognized lots of the people in pictures and know they were winners. I hit $1000 twice on Wheel of Fortune and saw others hit it also.It was a 12 day british isles cruise so we were in casino a lot but we thought it had better payoff on slot machines than other cruise ships.

[Daghis]

I can tell you that the machines are almost always reset at the start of a cruise...and this lessens your chances of winning...especially if no significant jackpots have been hit previously.

Assuming the progressive jackpots are reset, that still doesn't lessen the chance of winning, it just reduces the amount that'd be won. Yes, that would have an overall effect of lowering the payout percentage, but the odds of hitting the combination of symbols that triggers the progressive jackpot is constant and independent of prior resets.

 

As hard as it is to believe, if the machine has just paid out a progressive jackpot, the odds of getting another progressive jackpot on the very next spin hasn't changed and would be just as (un)likely. :D

[odblnt]

I always hear that it's the nights when I'm not in there that are best. :mad:

[rolloman]

For some odd reason the last night always seems to be producing a lot of winners. As far as changing the pay outs I do see technicians several times a cruise opening up machines and working on them, I can't verify what they are actually doing, maybe just simple preventive maintenance. I do know the machines can be set to different pay outs. An example is when they hold the slot tournaments, you ever notice how easy it is for people to rack up 5000 bucks with little effort? The machines have a "tournament" setting which causes them to make extreme payouts.

[winncove]

ODBlNT...you got it! I entered a tournament last cruise & the machine not only rolled over slow, it wouldn't even hit a cherry. 2nd round & same one who was grand winner won on "my" machine! I've also watched a worker walk down a line against the wall that I'd been winning a little on, lift the lids & tinker & couldn't hit a thing there the next day. :( I'd always heard the slot co. ppl had to change the program but guess that was wrong!:rolleyes:

[saileraway]

I keep thinking I'll hit a brick wall on luck with video poker machines and slots. We used to win in Vegas but all that changed when the Mirage was built. For a while, the machines at Rio were really loose but then Harrah's bought that casino. So, we reluctantly put in a $20 in a video poker machine on the Rhapsody. I hit the $1000 Royal Flush in diamonds the first night. I believe we both either stayed even or stayed a little ahead each time we played for the rest of the week. We ended up $200 to $300 ahead on the Jewel. And, on Celebrity, I entered and won the #1 spot in the slot tournament. Maybe I should quit while we're ahead. We were very pleasantly surprised to be able to play in the RCI casinos as Princess never paid one cent. I know what SAS80 says is correct. It's no fun to sit and lose and lose and lose. If that's the case on our next cruise, heck, we'll just go hit the buffet one more time!

[sgttami]

On every cruise I have ever been on I always hit a jackpot. My pictures have been on several RCI ships in the casino..

 

Personally, I find the first night at sea and the last night coming home to be the times I've hit..usually around 10PM!!

 

On one cruise, we couldn't dock in St. Kitts because of high winds..(I've posted this before). At noon DH and I walked into the casino and in about ten minutes, I hit $1350 and he hit $600. We pocketed that win!!! Both were on quarter machines.

 

I don't try to figure out the odds of gambling. I just love it when the bells go off and love it even better when they go off after "investing" only a few dollars!!